Disabled badges

I work in Camden Town in the north of London, a mecca for youngsters shopping for the more outlandish kinds of outfit, and one of the most difficult places in the known universe to park in. Jamestown Road, just off the Camden High Street, is a popular spot for parking with a good view of the pay-and-display machine. Of course, if you’re entitled to a disabled person’s badge then you or your driver can park without paying (within certain restrictions). Now there’s obviously nothing to prevent someone who’s disabled in some way from being the owner of a fast and expensive sports car. But when you see three or four of them a day parked along the road, proudly sporting their Blue Badge, you stop and wonder…

… and sure enough, there are periodic newspaper reports of a thriving black market in Blue Badges. Obviously, there are greater threats to humanity, but you do wonder whether the veritable swarm of traffic wardens which Camden Borough appears to employ for no better purpose than to maximise their income from parking revenues might not be employed to better effect by standing by Blue Badged cars and waiting with a video camera for the entirely able-bodied driver to show up!